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The half life of a radioactive substance is the time it takes for half of that substance to undergo radioactive decay. In some substances, like carbon 14, the proportion of it in a living being can be estimated, so the amount of it left in a sample correlates to the time since that sample was alive. Other substances, like, for example, Potassium 40, decays into Argon 40. The ratio of K40 to Ar40 in rock samples gives the age of some igneous rocks.

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What Carbon isotope used in dating things in archeology?

This is carbon 14 -(14C). see wikipedia-" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating" if you need an explanation as to how the measurements are made and how the age of a sample is calculated.


What is radiometric method?

Radiometric dating is a technique used to determine the age of rocks and minerals through the decay of radioactive isotopes. By measuring the ratio of parent isotopes to daughter isotopes, scientists can calculate the age of the sample. This method is commonly used in geology and archaeology to establish the age of materials.


What is uranium-lead method?

The uranium-lead method is a radiometric dating technique used to determine the age of rocks and minerals. It relies on the radioactive decay of uranium isotopes to lead isotopes in minerals. By measuring the ratio of uranium to lead in a sample, scientists can calculate the age of the sample.


Are radioactive isotopes used to determine the absolute age of rocks?

Yes, radioactive isotopes like uranium-lead, potassium-argon, and rubidium-strontium are commonly used to determine the absolute age of rocks through radiometric dating methods. By measuring the decay of these isotopes in a rock sample and comparing it to the initial amount of parent isotopes, scientists can calculate the age of the rock.


The expression used to determine the correct age of the lava flow is the product of?

The expression used to determine the correct age of the lava flow is the product of the parent isotope's half-life and the ratio of parent isotope to daughter isotope in the sample. This is based on the principles of radiometric dating, where the decay of radioactive isotopes can be used to estimate the age of a rock or mineral.

Related Questions

Can the age and sex be determine by hair sample?

Usually, yes, you can get a rough guesstimate of a persons age from their hair sample, you can usually tell male or female also.


What type of objects would you do carbon dating on?

On an object with unknown age but more than halflife of C


What is used to determine the absolute age of a sample?

Carbon dating. Google it


How old was the iceberg that the Titanic hit?

There is no way to know how old it was. Today ice samples are taken of glaciers that can tell the age of the glacier, but to tell the age of an ice burg is nearly impossible without a sample.


The techniques used to find out something about a population such as their average age based on a sample are referred to as?

A Census


How are tree rings used for dating?

Trees in places with clear seasons grow one ring each year, so by counting the rings you can find out the age of the tree. Also, the rings vary in thickness depending on the weather, so by matching the wide/narrow sequence from a known tree to an unknown sample of wood it's possible to tell the age of the unknown sample.


How is hair used to tell the age of a person?

Hair can be used to tell the age of a person by determining the levels of proteins and pigments found in a strand. This can only be done by scientific testing though.


What is the use of measuring the activity of a radioactive isotope in a sample to determine its age?

Measuring the activity of a radioactive isotope in a sample allows scientists to determine the amount of time that has passed since the sample was formed. By comparing the current activity of the isotope to its original activity, scientists can calculate the age of the sample, a technique commonly used in radiometric dating to estimate the age of rocks, fossils, and archaeological artifacts.


What is carbon-14 dating and how is it used to determine the age of organic materials?

Carbon-14 dating is a method used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in a sample. Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope that decays over time, so by comparing the amount of carbon-14 in a sample to the amount in living organisms, scientists can calculate the age of the material.


A survey of 35 students of a university showed a sample mean age of 21.7 with a standard deviation of 3.1 years What is the point estimate of the students' mean age?

It is the sample mean age of 21.7.


What is the uranium lead dating equation used for determining the age of rocks and minerals?

The uranium-lead dating equation is used to calculate the age of rocks and minerals by measuring the ratio of uranium to lead isotopes in a sample. This method is commonly used in geology to determine the age of Earth's oldest rocks.


What uses the ratio of parent to daughter material found in a sample to find the sample's age?

rudametric dating